The New Orleans Pelicans received some terrible news on Sunday when reports came out that starting point guard CJ McCollum had suffered a collapsed lung, knocking him out of action for an uncertain amount of time. A collapsed lung is a legitimate issue in and of itself, but the fact that McCollum has suffered the exact same injury before should give the Pelicans even more reason to be cautious when it comes to bringing him back.

Now, there remains no concrete timeline for how long McCollum would miss time for the Pelicans. But at the very least, New Orleans head coach Willie Green believes that the injury isn't too severe and that their starting point guard will be back on the hardwood in no time.

Green said that he doesn't think CJ McCollum's lung injury is “too bad,” per Will Guillory of The Athletic. Nevertheless, the Pelicans head coach himself acknowledged that the team will get more clarity regarding McCollum's situation on Tuesday.

Back in December 2021, when McCollum was still with the Portland Trail Blazers, the veteran combo guard suffered the same injury, knocking him out of action for 18 games, equivalent to around six weeks' worth of games. The good news is that when McCollum returned, he didn't appear to skip a beat. McCollum played 28 minutes in his return before logging 32-plus minutes in 10 of his next 11 games before the Blazers traded him to the Pelicans.

Now, Willie Green's prognostications may be a good sign, although the Pelicans head coach may merely be downplaying the situation to calm the nerves of everyone around him. But for now, an optimistic update on CJ McCollum's situation is definitely helpful, especially in the face of a potentially-serious injury threat.

In McCollum's absence, the Pelicans started rookie sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins, with Brandon Ingram assuming most of the ball-handling duties. Dyson Daniels and Kira Lewis Jr. also figure to play huge roles in the meantime as New Orleans figures out its backcourt situation amid the uncertainty of the true severity of McCollum's injury. The Pelicans have one of the toughest immediate schedules in the NBA, facing six playoff teams in their next nine games, with two of those matchups against non-playoff teams coming against the Dallas Mavericks.